Chris Robshaw says going to Millfield School helped him overcome his dyslexia

The England captain talks about his sporting experiences in school and how it
helped prepare him for a career as a rugby player.

Sporting chance: Chris Robshaw attended Millfield School in Somerset, one of the top schools for sport in EnglandPhoto: PA

Interview by Gareth A Davies

8:12PM BST 14 May 2013

You attended Millfield School. Did it prepare you for a life in sport ? Definitely. It gave me the opportunity to do what I am doing today, and put me in a great position. I’m very privileged to have been a pupil there.

How did your career progress there? I came there from Cumnor House and went on to captain the Millfield first XV and played for England Schools at under-18 level.

Your school rugby coach recalls you as ‘a leader who was not too vocal’. Ring bells? At school, you learn to lose games. We weren’t an unbeaten XV. You also learn to lose out in certain aspects of life. Of course you want to win everything, but unfortunately that’s not always the case. It’s about how you react to it, move on, store that memory and use it in the future.

Professional sport is a roller-coaster. You always want more, and that’s what continues to drive you. At the moment I’d like to get away from it all, come back fresh and have a proper pre-season. Then I’ll go again.

Did you excel at other sports? Not really. I played house cricket, gave the ball a thump. I wasn’t very good. I was dyslexic as a kid as well and obviously sporty as well. Going to Millfield helped me overcome dyslexia.

Why does the school develop so many outstanding sportspeople? They give you the opportunities, through top-class coaching and facilities. In all sports. No surprise that the school produced top-class players in Gareth Edwards, JPR Williams, Jon Mallett – who came back to coach us – Matt Perry, Chris Oti, and Mako Vunipola.

You attended the Tom Maynard Memorial Ball, which raised over £60,000 last week. Tell us more. Tom was an exceptional sportsman and his passing was a huge loss to the sports world and his friends and family. The scholarship in his memory – providing under-privileged and talented children with the opportunities he received – was very close to his heart and I fully support a great cause. Making a legacy of Tom’s name matters to me.